Biography
Career Honors:
- 2014 Payton Award Watch List
- 2014 Sports Network Preseason All-America (Third Team)
- 2014 College Football Performance Awards National Quarterback of the Year Watch List
- 2014 Preseason All-Southland Conference (First Team)
- 2013 College Sports Journal All-America (First Team)
- 2013 Walter Payton Award Finalist (Eighth Place Finish)
- 2013 Southland Conference Player of the Year
- 2013 All-Southland Conference (First Team)
- 2013 Louisiana Offensive Player of the Year
- 2013 Louisiana Newcomer of the Year
- 2013 All-Louisiana (First Team)
- 2013 Sports Network FCS National Offensive Player of the Week (Nov. 11)
- 2013 College Football Performance Awards FCS National Performer of the Week (Oct. 14)
- 2013 College Football Performance Awards FCS National Quarterback of the Week (Oct. 14)
- 2013 Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 14, Nov. 11)
- 2013 Louisiana Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 14, Oct. 29, Nov. 25)
2013: Named Southland Conference Player, Louisiana Offensive Player and Louisiana Newcomer of the Year after posting the best all-around statistical season by a Lion quarterback in school history and helping Southeastern to its first-ever NCAA Playoff Berth … Earned first team All-America honors from College Sports Journal and finished eighth in the voting for the Walter Payton Award … Named first team All-Southland Conference and All-Louisiana … Threw for 3,165 yards and 21 touchdowns, while also rushing for a team-high 1,046 yards and a single-season school record 16 touchdowns … Led the Southland Conference in rushing touchdowns and ranked among the league leaders in rushing yards per game (74.7, 5th), passing yards per game (226.1, 4th), passing efficiency (149.2, 4th), total offense per game (300.8, 2nd) and scoring (96 points, 5th) … Ranked fifth nationally with 14.72 yards per completion … Also ranked among the FCS leaders in passing efficiency (16th), passing yards (15th), total offense per game (11th), points responsible for (222, 8th) and points responsible for per game (15.9, 19th) … Opened Southeastern career by rushing for a single-game school record three touchdowns and 106 yards on 12 carries in a 45-7 victory over Southeast Missouri … Rushed for 132 yards and a score on 18 carries, while also throwing his first touchdown as a Lion at TCU … Broke out in a big way in a 56-14 win in the Southland opener over Stephen F. Austin, earning Southland Conference and Louisiana Player of the Week honors, as well as FCS National Performer and Quarterback of the Week accolades from College Football Performance Awards … Threw for four touchdowns and a season-high 337 yards on 13-of-20 passing versus SFA, while also rushing for a touchdown and 72 yards on five carries … His long touchdown passes to Chris Malott (85 yards), Tony McCrea (82 yards) and Marquis Fruge’ (77 yards) were among the longest passes in school history … Rushed for a pair of touchdowns at Northwestern State and tossed two touchdown passes and rushed for 95 yards versus Lamar … Earned Southland Offensive Player and Sports Network FCS National Player of the Week after his performance in 58-31 victory over Central Arkansas … At UCA, he rushed for a season-high 142 yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing for 202 yards and two scores … Threw three touchdowns as Southeastern rallied past Sam Houston State for a 34-21 victory that clinched at least a share of the Southland Conference title … Named Louisiana Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for 120 yards and a touchdown, while passing for 273 yards and two touchdowns in 52-27 win over Nicholls State in River Bell Classic … Led “The Drive to Stay Alive”, going 6-for-6 in a six-play, 85-yard game-winning drive that took 49 seconds off the clock in a 30-29 victory over Sam Houston State in the first playoff game in school history … Rushed for a touchdown and threw another in 20-17 quarterfinal loss to New Hampshire … His scramble away from a sack and five-yard touchdown throw to Marquis Fruge’ versus UNH was named the No. 1 play on ESPN Sportscenter’s Top Plays of the Day.
Prior to Southeastern: Played in 18 career games in two seasons at Oregon, serving as the backup quarterback to Darron Thomas in 2011 and Marcus Mariota in 2012 … will have two years of eligibility remaining … played in 10 games for the Ducks in 2012, finishing as the team’s fifth-leading rusher (165 yards) while scoring six touchdowns and helping the Ducks to a Fiesta Bowl victory over Kansas State and No. 2 ranking in the final national polls … rushed for 79 yards on 10 carries and scored three touchdowns in a win over Colorado while rushing for a pair of TDs against Tennessee Tech and a TD against Arizona … completed 20 of 37 passes for 211 yards on the season with three TDs – against Arkansas State, Arizona State and California … as a redshirt freshman in 2011, Bennett finished as the Ducks’ sixth-leading rusher averaging a team-best 8.7 yards per carry in eight games that included a Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin … tossed six touchdown passes on the season, including two against Washington State and two in his first collegiate start against Colorado … engineered a comeback win against Arizona State, filling in for an injured Thomas and helping the Ducks to a 41-27 victory.
High School: A three-year starter at Encino’s Crespi High School … a four-star recruit and the No. 10 quarterback in the country in 2009 by Scout.com … rated a four-star recruit and the No. 15 quarterback by Rivals.com and a three-star recruit by ESPN.com … took over the starting quarterback job as a sophomore, replacing injured starter Kevin Prince (a former starter at UCLA) and helped to the Celts to an 11-3 record and state runner-up finish.
Personal: Born in Los Angeles, Calif. … The son of Brian and Shyhra Bennett … Has two younger sisters, Kristina and Hailey … A general studies major.
